


i'm your home (the place where you can cry, the place where you can stay)

by ohcouldyoutellme



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten is Whipped, Confident Gay Ten, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Panicked Gay Kun, Qian Kun is Whipped, Qian Kun-centric, Romance, especially the dojae, the last two ships are background
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-27 03:33:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17758991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohcouldyoutellme/pseuds/ohcouldyoutellme
Summary: Kun was just living his life. He didn't expect a beautiful alien named Ten to appear in his apartment. He certainly didn't expect to fall in love with him.





	i'm your home (the place where you can cry, the place where you can stay)

Sicheng had bought him an entire case of haw flakes for his last birthday. They were on sale, he’d said, shrugging unapologetically. Kun doesn’t even like haw flakes that much, but they were small and an easy snack, so they quickly found their way into his backpack and pockets. He still has almost half the case left, though.  
So when Kun finds himself in the company of a man a few centimeters shorter than him, who speaks lightly accented Mandarin and has shining silver hair and claims to be an alien-when Kun first meets Ten, he offers him some haw flakes.  
Ten beams at him cheerfully. “Sure!” he says. “Are those a human delicacy?”  
“Yeah, sure,” Kun mumbles absentmindedly, digging through the box of haw flakes, opening a new bag, and pulling out two rolls. He tosses one to Ten, who catches it and immediately tries to bite into it.  
“No!” Kun says, rushing over. “No, you-here, I’ll show you how to eat them.” He carefully unwraps the paper from the flakes. “This is the part you eat,” he says as he separates one flake from the rest and pops it in his mouth.  
Ten’s eyes are incredibly wide. He carefully follows every step and gasps when he tastes it.  
“Woah,” he says. “It’s soft, but crunchy. And it tastes so strange!”  
“Do you like it?” Kun asks. Ten nods eagerly. “Well, there are plenty of things that taste like that. I’ll show you some.” He wonders mournfully how he’s already making promises to someone who randomly appeared in his apartment and who he’s known for not quite half an hour. He thinks he knows, though. There’s something about Ten that seems magnetic. He couldn’t resist him if he tried.  
“That sounds excellent!” Ten says, beaming. “We’re going to be such great friends!”  
Kun takes a deep breath. “Um...Mind telling me who you are, exactly?”  
Ten straightens up. He looks different all of a sudden-not the handsome but goofy person he’d been, but regal and sophisticated.  
“I am the second prince of the planet of NCT,” he says. “My name is Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul. This is part of my training as a member of the royal family. You have been observed and deemed a suitable guide to teach me about life on your planet.” An image of aliens watching Kun shower flashes through his head. He shudders and shakes it off. “We will provide financial compensation to cover my living costs. I will be staying with you for about six of your human months.” Ten beams, and it’s like the switch has been flipped. “What’d you think?”  
Kun blinks in shock. “Oh,” he whispers. “Wow.”  
“Good, then?” Ten asks innocently. “So...can I live with you?”  
“Sure,” Kun says. “I have school on most days, and you won’t be able to come with me then. But...you can hang out with me while I’m working, and I think you’ll learn plenty just wandering around on your own...And I’ll show you as much as I can.”  
“Great!” Ten says. He’s still smiling. Kun wants to scream and run as far away from this pretty man as possible. That might offend him, though. Kun doesn’t know a lot about alien manners. Or anything.  
He fishes for something to say. “Um...want to...watch a movie or something?” he asks.  
“Sure!” Ten sounds really excited. Kun hopes he isn’t expecting something really cool or anything. He doesn’t know what they do for entertainment on NCT, but it’s probably much more interesting.  
“I’ll...make ramyeon,” Kun says. “Um. And do you want some...popcorn, or something?”  
“Popcorn?” Ten asks, tilting his head in a way that makes Kun scream internally.  
“Right,” Kun says, remembering that Ten is from a different planet, and he might speak Mandarin, but he doesn’t know much about human stuff. “Well, I’ll make some, and you’ll see.”  
Ten watches in wonder as Kun boils water and chops vegetables for the ramyeon. He begins to make popcorn on the stovetop-which is the _superior_ way. Ten jumps at the first few popping kernels, but he quickly gets used to it and stares, fascinated. Kun adds the noodles before finishing and seasoning the popcorn. Once the ramyeon finishes, he puts everything in bowls and brings them to the table.  
“Wow,” Ten says. “You’re so efficient. I’m not very good at making food.” He’s pouting now, and Kun swears his heart stops in his chest.  
He smiles. “Thanks,” he says. “I like to cook.” He’d considered going to culinary school for a while. It was something he enjoyed and was moderately good at. But in the end, he knew that cooking wasn’t his passion.  
He pulls up Netflix on his laptop-he uses Sicheng’s account-and puts on a random comedy movie. They eat while Ten watches and Kun looks over his notes from his classes. Ten’s laugh is beautiful, and the sounds of delight he makes while eating should, quite frankly, be illegal.  
Kun has never considered himself a gay mess. He leaves that to Donghyuck and Yuta. But something about Ten is making him melt. This is worse than any crush he’s ever had. He thinks he’s already in love, which is dangerous, considering that Ten is a prince and absolutely beautiful and way out of his league and going to leave in six months. But he can’t help it. Maybe Ten is working some kind of alien magic on him. He can’t really bring himself to care.  
Once the movie has ended, Kun looks up to see Ten looking at him. He blushes and looks away.  
“Let’s talk!” Ten declares. “We’re going to be together for six months. We should know about each other. I’ll start. I’m the same age as you, about two months younger. I have three brothers. My older brother, Taeil, is the crown prince. Jaehyun is dating one of the doctors that works for us, Doyoung. And Yukhei is pretty much a...what are those Earth animals? The really cute small ones that people keep?”  
“...A dog?” Kun asks. “A puppy?”  
“Yes!” Ten agrees. “Yukhei is like a puppy. I like to dance and eat. My best friend is named BamBam. I’m super excited to get to know you!” He pauses. “Oh, and I’m attracted to men.”  
Kun chokes on air. From the look on Ten’s face, he knows exactly what he did, and he did it on purpose. “Are you okay?” he asks, only half-pretending to be concerned.  
Kun takes a deep breath. “Fine,” he says. “I’m-I’m fine. Okay. You want to know about me? I… Well, you know how old I am. I go to school here in Korea, but I’m actually from China. I guess you knew that, too, since you’re speaking Mandarin...I’m doing the last year of my bachelors’ in aeronautical engineering. I’m going to be starting flight school next year. My mother is dead, but my father remarried with a rich woman, so we have a lot of money. I have a half-brother, Sicheng. We’re not really close, since we’ve only been related for a few years, and I’ve spent most of that time away at university. I have a lot of friends at college. I want to be a pilot-that’s why I’m going to flight school.” He shrugs. “You might know some of that already. I mean...you said that people from your planet were watching me, so you must know some things about me.”  
Ten smiles. “I do,” he agrees. “But it’s still nice to hear it from you.”  
“Oh,” Kun adds half-mockingly. “And I like men.”  
“Good!” Ten says. “We’re going to get along very well.” His voice has slid down into what Kun can only call flirtatious. He flushes bright red.  
He thinks for a little while about his living situation. Ten already said that they’ll give him some money, which is nice. He tries not to rely on his parents as much as possible. But…  
“I only have one bed,” Kun blurts out. “So we’ll have to share. Unless you want to take the couch, I guess, but-”  
“I have no problem with sharing,” Ten says. It’s unfair how smooth and unflustered he is. “We enjoy physical contact at home. I would like to be able to continue some of that with you.”  
“Oh, o-okay,” Kun murmurs, feeling his face get even hotter. “That sounds fine.”  
Ten tilts his head and grins. The action reminds Kun of a cat. It’s unfair how attractive the younger man is. “I know you usually go to bed around this time,” he says. “Shall I get ready?”  
“S-sure,” Kun says, freaking out a little because _how much have they been watching him if Ten knows when he goes to bed?_ It’s only eleven, but as Kun’s friends like to remind him, he is boring.  
“Can I borrow some of your clothes?” Ten asks. “I don’t have any. We should go shopping tomorrow!”  
Kun goes through his schedule. He doesn’t have work until six tomorrow, and his classes end at one. “Sure,” he agrees. “We can go between my classes and work. But for now, I’ll find something.”  
Ten follows him into his room. It’s neat-not _Taeyong_ level neat, but he’s never been messy. He goes through his closet and finds a T-shirt and sweatpants that fit him snugly. “These should be a little big on you,” he says, turning to Ten and handing him the clothes.  
“Okay!” Ten says. He immediately begins stripping.  
Kun turns around as quickly as he can. He can feel the heat radiating from his face. “N-no, you-What are you-”  
“Oh, is this not custom on Earth?” Ten asks innocently. “On NCT, we have no problems undressing around people we are close with.”  
“That’s-okay, I guess we’re a little less...open,” Kun says, still facing away. “I mean...not everyone.” He thinks of Yuta the last time they all hung out together and shudders. “I’m just...pretty shy.”  
“Alright,” Ten says. “Well, I’m done now.” Kun turns tentatively to see a fully-dressed Ten. He’s pouting.  
He’s pretty sure his blush is only getting stronger.  
“Um...I think I have a spare toothbrush,” Kun murmurs. “Let me look…” Ten follows him to the bathroom, where Kun riffles through the drawers and finds an extra blue toothbrush. “Do you know how to brush your teeth? I...Do you even need to?”  
“I don’t think I need to,” Ten says. “But if it’s an important part of the Earthen experience, then I will gladly try!” He picks up the toothbrush, a determined look on his face.  
“O-okay,” Kun says. “You… squeeze some of this out…” He hands Ten the toothpaste. “Only a little, though.”  
Ten carefully squeezes out a piece of toothpaste about the size of a pea. “Yes!” Kun says. “Perfect. They...they tell kids to use exactly that much.” He nods determinedly and tries to ignore the fact that he is teaching an incredibly attractive alien how to brush his teeth. This is not how he expected his Monday night to go. “Then you...You know what, let me show you.” He gets out his own toothbrush, runs it under the tap for a second, squeezes out his own toothpaste, and brushes his own teeth with exaggerated motions. Ten mimics him, looking fascinated. Kun spits out the toothpaste after a minute and then brushes for another. Then he rinses his mouth out, using the motto his father taught him as a child- _spit, spit, swallow._  
After that adventure, he changes his own clothes and flosses his teeth. Then he returns to his bedroom. Ten is sitting on his bed, somehow not looking incredibly awkward. Kun can not imagine being as fearless and unbothered.  
“And now we…go to bed, I guess,” Kun says. He plugs in his phone and laptop at the outlet in the corner and watches Ten climb into bed. He only has a twin, but that’s fine. He will be just fine sharing a bed with Ten for six months. Once Ten has buried himself under the blankets, Kun turns off the light and carefully navigates his way to the bed. He’s barely laid down before Ten attaches to him like a limpet. He stiffens for a moment before relaxing. Ten had said that he was used to physical contact. He doesn’t mind some cuddling.  
He falls asleep like that, Ten’s warmth comforting him. He’s forgotten how much he misses sleeping with someone else.  
His alarm wakes him up at seven-thirty. He turns it off and looks down at Ten, who’s still sleeping. His face is so relaxed in sleep. Kun runs a hand through his soft silver hair.  
He feels indescribably sad all of a sudden. He hurriedly gets ready to go. Before he leaves, he writes out a note to Ten telling him the things he can eat, how the microwave works, and that he’s free to read any of Kun’s books and look around, as long as he doesn’t break anything. Kun signs it with his name and a little heart and leaves before he can doubt himself and cross it out.  
Classes seem to take forever. He’s distracted, thinking about Ten. Is he really okay in an unfamiliar environment by himself for hours? And why does Kun feel so attached to him already? This isn’t good. Ten is an alien prince who is leaving in six months. He is absolutely ethereal. He is so out of Kun’s league in more ways than he could even count. He is not going to set himself up for another heartbreak.  
He returns home about twenty past one. Ten greets him with a wide smile. He’s back in his clothes from yesterday-jeans and a black T-shirt. “How were your classes?” he asks. “What did you learn?”  
He thinks about his physics class and his flight design lab. “Umm...not much,” he says with a weak smile. “How was your day? Were you bored?”  
Ten shrugs. “No, not really,” he says. “Everything is so different. Your food is so good! And just…” He shrugs. “It was fun to try to guess what things were for. I do have some questions, though.”  
Kun entertains his questions as he makes himself a late lunch. After he eats, he asks, “Do you want to go shopping?”  
“Yes!” Ten says, beaming. “Please. I’ll just get some of the human money I brought.” He disappears into Kun’s room and emerges with a handful of won notes. Kun glances at the denominations and nods to himself, satisfied with the amount Ten has.  
“Um...before we go, I should ask. Do you speak Korean?” Kun asks.  
Ten nods. “I have always been good at learning languages,” he says. “In my preparation for this trip, I learned Mandarin, Korean, and some English. I’m not very good at reading Korean or English, though.”  
“That’s fine,” Kun says. “I was just wondering. That’ll make it a lot easier for you to get around, especially when I’m not with you.”  
He gets some money of his own-he doesn’t love shopping, and he’s not planning on buying anything, but sometimes, he sees things he wants. Then he and Ten head out.  
It’s an adventure from the very start. Ten is awestruck by everything. He gapes at the sky, at the buildings, at the people. Kun is enjoying this much more than he probably should, but Ten is really cute.  
They arrive at the shopping complex close to his apartment. Since it’s close to a university, there are some stores with decent prices. They’ve been shopping for about half an hour when Kun hears his name.  
He turns to see Yuta and Johnny coming towards him. Immediately, he groans. Ten looks at him in concern. “Is everything alright?” he asks.  
“I’m fine,” Kun says. “It’s just my friends.” Ten nods in understanding.  
“Who is this?” Yuta asks, wiggling his eyebrows. Kun rolls his eyes. Yuta can pretend to be flirty all he wants. They both know that he and Johnny are thoroughly whipped for each other.  
“This is...one of my friends from China,” Kun decides to say. “He’s staying with me for a few months. His family has some business in Korea.”  
“What kind of business?” Johnny asks.  
“They’re businesspeople,” Kun says. “Rich. But Ten is staying with me, because he can’t read Korean well, and anyways we’re close friends.”  
“Nice,” Yuta says. “Why haven’t you told us about this?” He’s fake pouting.  
“He just got here today,” Kun says. “I wanted to show him Seoul. Also, he needs some new clothes.”  
Yuta and Johnny accompany them for the rest of their trip. Ten manages to rein in most of his excitement about visiting a human shopping mall. Yuta insists on buying Ten ice cream. Johnny watches them with jealousy.  
“You know Yuta is in love with you?” Kun murmurs to him. “You don’t have to worry about it.”  
“I know,” Johnny says. His face turns teasing. “Anyway, it’s obvious that you and Ten are whipped for each other.”  
“I-I’m-No we’re not!” Kun protests. He’s sure he’s blushing profusely.  
“You’re not fooling anyone, you know,” Johnny says. “He knows that you like him. And I’m going to guess from your reaction that you didn’t know he liked you back. Well, now you do.”  
_We just met yesterday!_ Kun wants to say, but Johnny thinks he and Ten are old friends. “Whatever, Seo,” he says. “Want me to buy you some ice cream?”  
Johnny grins. “Why, thank you, Qian,” he says, putting his hand in Kun’s. “I would be honored.”  
Time with Ten passes too easily, too quickly. Kun is concerned at how it’s slipping between his fingers like sand, but at the same time, he wishes it was always like this. His last year of undergrad is going by at a pace he could only have dreamed of during the last three seemingly interminable years.  
Before he knows it, his six months with Ten are almost up. Six months of movie nights, of Ten coming to work with him and spending hours reading books in corners of the store, of them going out together and exploring the sights of Seoul, of sharing the same bed and cooking together, of hanging out with Kun’s friends (and of Kun getting teased by them for his “lovesick puppy” expression), of Kun getting calls from his father and being overcome with waves of homesickness and longing for his mother and Ten comforting him, of Ten being confused by the things he sees and Kun explaining them to him. They do so many couple-y things that at times, he slips and imagines what it would like to be Ten’s boyfriend. Not for long, though. Ten is going back to NCT in a week, and Kun will never see him again. These six months were like a dream, but like all dreams, they have to end.  
The last week is permeated with a sense of finality. While Kun works at the bookstore, he’s distracted, watching Ten or thinking about him. He can barely concentrate in his classes. It’s most painful when he’s with Ten. Every moment they’re together, he knows it’s going to be one of the last.  
Kun doesn’t have a lot of experience with love. He’s never dated anyone, and he’s only ever had a few small crushes before. But he does know that he is thoroughly in love with Ten. Johnny was able to tell on only the second day they knew each other, and Kun’s attachment to him has only grown stronger. It was such a bad idea to fall in love with him, but it wasn’t exactly something he could control. He would have if he’d been able.  
Well...would he have? It was painful to love Ten, knowing that he’d have to go, but these months with him had been the best months of his life. Was that how it felt to be in love? Probably. But it hurt to knew that without Ten, he might never be this happy again.  
Finally, it’s the night of Ten’s departure. Ten is standing in the middle of Kun’s living room, a bag over his shoulder full of clothes and things he’s bought on Earth. He’s already said goodbye to all of Kun’s friends. Kun is watching him, not sure what to say. He wants to beg Ten to stay, but that’s so selfish. He’s a prince. He has family and friends and a whole planet waiting for him. Kun couldn’t ask him to stay on a foreign planet just for him.  
“Well...I guess this is goodbye,” he says. Ten nods without saying anything, his eyes fixed intensely on Kun’s. “Um...it was nice knowing you. I really liked having you as a friend. I hope you...learned something?”  
“Yes,” Ten agrees. “I learned a lot.” His stare is starting to make Kun uncomfortable. He shifts awkwardly on his feet.  
“Oh. That’s...good.”  
Ten shakes his head all of a sudden, strides toward him, puts his hands firmly on his shoulders, and kisses him. Kun gasps into his mouth. Ten is smaller than him, but he is obviously taking the dominant role in the kiss.  
They kiss for almost a minute before Ten pulls away, says “Thank you,” and disappears.  
Kun screams.  
He thinks for about two weeks about what that kiss might have meant, but in the end he decides that it was just Ten being his usual, overaffectionate self. He wouldn’t play with Kun’s emotions like that. Then he tries to forget it. Oh, does he try. In the end, he decides to stop trying. He knows he’s not going to forget about Ten. But if he can just push him to the back of his mind, it’ll be enough.  
He even tries dating. Well, not dating. But he tries to have crushes. It doesn’t work. Ten has given him unmatchable standards. He sees people who he once would have thought were cute, and they still are, objectively, but they’re nothing compared to Ten, his Ten.  
He’s mostly come to terms with it. He will always love Ten, but at some point, it probably won’t hurt as much anymore. He can only hope for that. He will never see Ten again, but he will find someone else to love. It might take years, but it will happen.  
But then.  
It’s about two months after Ten left. It’s just another Thursday. Kun gets home from work, turns on the light in his living room, and screams.  
There are two people standing in his apartment.  
One of them is Ten.  
The other one he doesn’t recognize, but his yellow hair glows in the same way as Ten’s, so it’s probably someone else from NCT. One of Ten’s brothers?  
“Hmm,” the unfamiliar person says. “He is attractive. Rather jumpy, though.”  
Ten rolls his eyes. “He wasn’t expecting us to be here,” he says. “It _is_ his home.” He turns to beam at Kun. “This is my brother,” he says. “Taeil.”  
The crown prince, Kun dimly remembers. “O-oh,” he whispers breathlessly. “Wh-what are you-why are you-”  
“My brother,” Taeil says, “returned to NCT and could not stop talking about you. Practically everyone in the palace knows that the second prince is infatuated with someone from a planet far away.”  
“In-infatuated?” Kun echoes faintly. He feels dizzy.  
“Yes,” Taeil says dismissively. “What are the odds? Of all the people in the universe, he is sent to spend six months with you, and during that time he falls in love with you. Fortunately, my parents were perfectly willing to let him go. With our technology, he can visit home whenever he needs.” He raises an eyebrow at Kun. “So now the only question is, do you love him back? It’s not much of a question. I could tell the moment you saw him. But my poor brother wants to be sure.”  
It takes Kun a minute to process. “Do I-do I…” He takes a deep breath. “Of course I love him! That idiot made me fall in love with him from the very first night he was here, and then he made me pine for him for six months, and then he kissed me a minute before he had to leave, knowing we would probably never see each other again. And _then_ he made me think about him for another two months, but it was even worse than before because he wasn’t here, and I thought I would never see him again. So yes, I love him, and I’m also really mad at him, but if he’s really going to stay with me even though it means living on a totally different planet from his family it makes me want to kiss him again.” His usual filter seems to have disappeared, and he’s speaking so fast that he can’t breathe for a second.  
Taeil smiles slowly. “Oh,” he says. “I see why Ten likes you. You look so sweet and gentle, but you have fire within you.” He shrugs. “Well, it’s a good thing you love each other, then. I’ve done my job.” And like that, he disappears.  
Kun stares after him, but only for a moment. Then he turns to Ten. “Do you really love me?” he asks, voice suddenly small.  
“Of course I do,” Ten says. “Kun, you-In the six months I spent with you, you became everything to me. Suddenly, everything I used to care about seemed so much less important. I still love my family and my friends back home and my planet, but those months I was back home, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I want to live here, on Earth, with you. I want to hang out with you and your friends. I want to eat the food you make for me and sleep by your side. I want to go on dates with you and be your boyfriend. I want you to be mine.”  
“Please,” Kun whispers. “I’ve never wanted anything more. Ten, I-I love you so much.”  
“I love you too, Kun,” Ten says. Then he takes Kun in his arms and kisses him.  
Their first kiss had been fast, unexpected. It had occupied him for two months, keeping him awake for hours as he remembered how Ten’s lips had felt on his. It was the best kiss Kun had ever had. Not that he had a lot of experience. The only romantic kisses he’d ever had felt almost obligatory, at the end of awkward dates with people who had asked him out and probably regretted it soon after. Ten was totally different. He was passionate, and he actually guided the kiss, unlike Kun’s previous partners, who had mostly just stayed there for a few seconds before moving away.  
But as good as that kiss had been, this one was even better. They were in no rush. Kun was surprised for a couple seconds, but he quickly overcame it. And Ten was a very good kisser, definitely better than Kun.  
They kiss for a good few minutes before finally pulling away. It suddenly feels very hot. Kun can feel the heat in his cheeks. He fans his face with his hand.  
“Wow,” he says breathlessly. “That was...Wow.”  
“So, can I stay?” Ten asks, smiling up at him. It reminds him of the night they met, but so much has changed.  
“Yes,” Kun says. “Of course.” He takes a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down, and walks away into the kitchen. He’s almost out of what he’s looking for. The giant box they came in has been recycled. There are only a couple bags of them left. He pulls out two rolls.  
“Haw flakes?” he asks.  
“Thanks,” Ten says as he catches his roll. They eat their haw flakes together.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Home by Seventeen.  
> I’m sorry if the kiss scenes aren’t accurate. I didn’t go into too much detail, because my first and only kiss was in first grade, and we weren’t exactly experts. But hopefully they don’t seem totally fake.  
> This is mostly an excuse to write Kun being a cute gay mess. I already have a lot of random HCs about this universe, so if anyone is interested in talking about that-Kun’s family, people on NCT, background on other humans, stuff that happens in the future, etc.-I would be more than willing.  
> This is kind of a cheesy mess, but I just wanted to write some more Kun content. As they say, be the change you want to see in the world. Some more Kun stuff is on the way, including another Kunten work, if that’s your thing. I’ve also got other NCT stuff and things for other fandoms in the works.  
> Taeil is the future king bc he is a king  
> Also thinking back on it now I should have made Taeyong an alien too because his beauty is OUT OF THIS WORLD  
> Also, in case anybody doesn't know what haw flakes are, they're little dried fruit flakes. This whole thing is inspired by the fact that my family somehow got a big bag of them and I ate almost all of them, and one day I was wondering what I should write and I was like "Kun, haw flakes, go." and somehow I ended up with this mess.  
> I hope you liked this. Thanks for reading!


End file.
